Brooksville man accused of battering pregnant girlfriend

BROOKSVILLE — A man acquitted by a Brooksville jury last year of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon was arrested Monday and charged with the aggravated battery of his pregnant girlfriend.

Richard Leonard Frazier, 29, of 6819 Hope Hill Road, told authorities that marks found on the victim Monday were the same ones he inflicted when he was arrested for battery in May, a Hernando County Sheriff’s Office report says.

“Pregnant women don’t heal quickly,” Frazier said, according to the report. He was convicted in July of misdemeanor battery, court records show.

The victim, who is more than three months pregnant, told investigators Frazier was upset with her because she had not come the night before, the report says.

The woman said Frazier grabbed the cover off the bed where she was sleeping and began choking her, the report said.

She told investigators she tried to get away, but fell from the bed and nearly passed out. She had Frazier drive her to Bayfront Health Brooksville when her stomach began hurting, the report states.

The couple argued at the hospital and Frazier left, records show. He was contacted by a Hernando sheriff’s deputy on Suncrest Drive, where he was a passenger in the victim’s car, the report said.

Frazier blamed the incident on his girlfriend, saying he drove her to the hospital after she became upset and passed out, the report said.

Frazier characterized the victim as a high-risk pregnancy, the report states. He was being held without bail at the Hernando County Jail this week, records show.